Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hong Kong Bakery Style Baked BBQ Meat Bun - Char Siew Chan Bao

I grew up eating Hong Kong style bun even though I was no where near Hong Kong at the time. Thanks to the British, Hong Kong bakery style bread and pastry are very much influenced by its colonial past. After all, it was not until 1997 when the island was eventually returned to mainland China. The popularity of Hong Kong bakery style bun in Asia is phenomenal. Almost all modern day bakeries in the Asia Pacific region sell buns like these.

The distinction between Hong Kong bakery style bread and the west is the filled buns. Unlike the coveted freshly baked loaves of baguettes, rye, or pumpernickel, the Asian bakery boost its scrumptious petite looking sweet or savory filled buns. The only plain loaf available in these bakeries will be sandwich bread. I always thought it was strange that the filled bun culture did not catch on here in the States. Its closest comparison will be a submarine sandwich, only a lot smaller and with the filling baked into the bun instead of being assembled on after the bread is baked.

Another distinct feature of these buns is its soft and light texture, as the bakers used the water roux method in making the bun dough. The method simply combines water and flour, cooked over medium heat till gluey. The addition of the flour-water mix helps to develop gluten in the bread whilst keeping the bun moist and light. You do not want a hard crust to develop on these buns as it is meant to come out soft. Simply put, these buns are the perfect meal on the go. No cutlery or napkin required.

Step 3: Add in the meat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When filing is cooked, combined corn starch and water to make a slurry. Slowly, add in slurry while stirring. Cook for another minute till sauce has thickened and appears gluey.

Step 4: Dish filling into a bowl. Let cool completely. Refrigerate. Filling can be make up to 2 days ahead of time.

Step 5: Prepare water roux. Combine water and flour in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat. Whisk constantly till mixture forms a paste, about 3-5 mins. Dish out into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Water roux can be made ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for at least 3 days.

Step 8: As soon as dough comes together, remove from bread machine. Place dough in a well greased bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the weather.

Step 9: This is my dough after an hour as it is hot and humid out. If the weather at your place is similar, shorten the proofing time to 40 minutes.

Step 10: Cut dough into 12 pieces. Flatten dough with your hands to form a 4-inch diameter round. Place 2 heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of dough. Crimp edges together to seal. Placed form bun, crimp side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment. (Sorry, no pics there. Fingers were extremely greasy!)

Step 12: Once second proofing is done, mist the bun using a spray bottle filled with clean cold water.

Step 13: Brush the remainder beaten egg on buns. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove bun from oven. Glaze with sugar and water mix. Return buns to oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes till done.

Step 14: Let bun cool for 10 minutes before serving. It keeps well in the refrigerator for 5 days. To reheat, simply place in a preheated 350F oven for 5 minutes or nuke in the microwave oven for 1 minute.

The best part about making your own Char Siew Charn Bao at home is the amount of sauce and filling you can place inside the bun. Believe me, you will not find any bakery out there selling these buns with the amount of filling you see in this picture.

@Quay Po: You are more than welcome to knock on my doorstep uninvited. After all,I was inspired by your steamed char siew pau post with the gallon of sauces you stuff in those babies. I am feeling so good about these charn bao that I want to share it with the world.

@Le Quan: Thanks, Le Quan! Just so you know, I made some with chicken filling too. My sisters already placed orders for a dozen each :)

Sum Sum... I did it. Even though the bun is not so good looking (which I can improve later), the bun is so soft and the combination is great. My family in law like it so much. Thanks alot for the recipe. Will try more soon. Have a look at my facebook. I posted some photos. hehe....

If you don't own a bread machine, you can still make the bread dough by kneading. Combine flour, sugar & salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.Mix in yeast, egg, water roux, and milk. Knead with hands till a rough dough is formed. Scrape dough and bits in the bowl onto a floured work surface. Continue to knead dough till an elastic and smooth dough is formed (about 10 minutes or so, depending on how fast you can knead it). Slowly, work in the softened butter to form an elastic dough, which is dry to the touch. Takes about 15 minutes to get to that elastic stage. You can refer to this video on how to properly knead bread dough http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

You can absolutely knead it in a stand mixer. Use the dough hook and let the machine knead the dough till it is no longer sticky and leave the side of the bowl clean. Depending on your mixer and speed, it should take about 10 mins or so. Have fun baking!

One other question...is your butter melted? Or just room temp is fine. :) Thanks so much! Reason is, I tried this recipe yesterday and the bun is not as soft as I had hoped. http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/03/hong-kong-style-sausage-rolls.html

Butter at room temperature is good, never melted. Hmmm.....did u adjust the water required in the recipe? Jennifer, can you tell me where do you live? Cos if you live in the cooler weather country which I believe you will have the heat on now, you definitely need to add more water to your dough.

One last question I promise, did you use instant yeast or active dry yeast? I see that you added the yeast with the dry ingredients and I thought with active dry yeast, you have to add the liquid and let it activate first for about 15 minutes. Thanks in advance. ;)

I have used both with equal success. The only time I will bloom they yeast is to check if it is active. If the expiration date on the yeast package is still good and u store them correctly, in the fridge, u should be safe skipping the bloom step.

Not a problem, Jenn! Let me know how did it turn out. This is one of my family all time favorite. Do give the poolish starter hotdog bun on my website a try. If you like the bun soft and moist, you will be happy with the recipe. http://thenewartofbaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/asian-hotdog-buns-poolish-starter-dough.html

You want a silky smooth satiny dough. Add enough water so that the dough comes together and leave the side of the bowl clean. It is very hard to describe in words, it all comes with experience. For a start, I will say you should be fine to follow the recipe to the dot since you are in Seattle. When the winter months come again, you will start to notice that the dough will come out a little dry even when you use the same amount of water. That is when you adjust and add about 1 tbsp at a time till the dough comes together.

I used raw pork in this instant cos I do not have ready made char Siew on hand. If u r using cooked char Siew, just skip the marinade part. Combine all the sauce ingredients, except for the slurry. Sauté the shallots in oil over medium heat in a pan, then add all the sauce mix into the pan and let it come up to a boil. Add in the diced char Siew and cooked for a few minutes before adding the slurry into the mix.

Hi Reese, thank you so much for your prompt response. It's so informative and the photos look great and inspiring as well. I look forward to do this yummy recipe. Truly appreciate your help. Thanks again. :) -gidget-